You Always Were
by ShiverIntheLight
Summary: She still wasn't looking at him, but her eyes began to smile, as did her mouth. "You know me better than most older or younger people do." "And vice versa." Link had to smile as well. "And vice versa." Zelda finally turned towards him, her smile not fading.


You Always Were

**Disclaimer: Beat me with a stick if you find proof I own any Nintendo or Zelda characters (Or locations) XD Now enjoy the oneshot! :D**

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"Who truly lives forever? Don't you think the Goddesses tire of it all?" This was the first question she asked as Link walked into the shrine. Over the past few years she had cultivated the world beneath the clouds, making it habitual for the people who wanted to come live from Skyloft.

"I guess I can't answer that question." Link knelt beside her, watching her as she spoke, her thin face accentuated by the light in the room. "However, Link...there are ways for me to solve it by coming up with theories." She stood up and looked at the candlelight burning on the top of the altar, her sea-blue-colored eyes taking in the flame and watching its undulating form.

Link stood up with her, his shoulder brushing hers. "And have you come up with a theory?"

"No...not yet. I wish not to be ignorant though. I have been that way my whole life. You know that." She still wasn't looking at him, but her eyes began to smile, as did her mouth. "You know me better than most older or younger people do."

"And vice versa." Link had to smile as well. "And vice versa." Zelda finally turned towards him, her smile not fading.

"How can Hyrule live up to city standards?" Now the smile was gone. "Not many people have decided to brave coming down to this good earth from the clouds. Now and then I realize that I can't really count myself out of the equation. If I were given the choice...I probably wouldn't have wanted to leave either. It is my true home...Skyloft. The area I know most about and this area I am just beginning to understand." Zelda began to walk and Link hurried to catch up with her.

"How about if we had decided to come down here together if we hadn't been involved in any quest? Then would you have have descended from the clouds?" Link queried, and then Zelda looked at him, wrapping her arm around his.

"Would that even be a choice Link?" she asked with a soft laugh. "I would have went wherever you would go, regardless of the danger. Being with you is life's definition."

They were silent for a moment, both friends walking together, then. "Link, being on this land had matured me over these years. I realized that I couldn't be the cutesy girl that dressed up like the Goddess at the Wing Ceremony. I had to be something I wasn't: a leader."

"You have always been a leader, Zelda." Link leaned in to brush his lips on her blond hair. Over the years they had grown up together, Link was saddened by the only fact that their childhood was now gone. They couldn't act as they used to four years ago, flying on their Loftwings about Skyloft and just soaring in the sky, free to be themselves.

They still cared for their Loftwings, yes, but Link and Zelda had little time for them now due to the construction of the city and it seemed that Zelda's blue Loftwing and his Crimson Loftwing had other plans. They went off, just the two birds, and usually didn't come back till the night rolled around.

Link followed Zelda, her grip on his arm soft, but still reminding him it was there as they walked through the budding city. There a few of the Skyloftian children played, breathing in the clean air, and chasing each other with sticks while proud parents looked on with serene expressions, knowing their children were safe.

"This way Link," Zelda said, breaking him from his reverie as she made a left, jerking him out of his thoughts of the children.

"You are still the same though, Link. I'd say the only thing that hadn't changed about my life is that you are still with me." She looked into his eyes and Link looked back, seeing no end to the depths in them. They said nothing as they reached the entrance to Faron Woods, blue, orange, brown, and red birds flying overhead to chirp and argue in neighboring branches of a tree.

"This was where my adventure first started, looking for you in these woods, Zelda. Each time I found a clue about you...it seemed you were just one step ahead. You always were."

"Have I truly?" Zelda queried with a giggle. "I always used to think that I had been going too slow."

"I guess slow is quick for you, Zelda." Link smiled and Zelda reciprocated the expression. They have been through much more than the average person, Link knew. And he also knew that if the time ever came, he would still take up arms and protect Zelda with all his strength.

Two screeches came from overhead and Link and Zelda laughed together as they looked up saw their two Loftwings mingling, wings almost brushing each other as they flew above, circling the couple down on the ground. The trees swayed in the wind of the large birds' wings flapping.

"It sure didn't take long for our Loftwings to get the hint, right?" Link japed and Zelda smiled in amusement as they watched the two feathered mates soar upward before flapping off in the distance to be alone once more.

"Would we ever be like that?" Zelda queried as they began to walk again. "Could you and I travel around, just the two of us, to different places and not be separated, always together?"

"We could, Zelda. We could." Link looked at the girl, no young woman, that he had been with and in the presence of since he he could remember. He had fallen in love with her and confessed it to her after making the decision to live with her on the Surface. She rejected him at first, explaining she wanted to build a suitable place for any Skyloftians before focusing on herself. Now that objective in creating a city was finished Link and Zelda spent more time together, building up their friendship and closeness.

"I believe you, Link. This world needs more people like you in it. People who are driven to what they want to do and any decision that they make."

They stopped walking as Link and Zelda picked a tree to climb, the princess going first so if she was to fall Link could grasp her. Climbing felt natural to Link, and he was more than happy to teach Zelda how to climb as well when she asked. Once they sat down on a chosen branch together they looked off, seeing the vast expanse of green trees and beyond that, the Goddess Statue that symbolized the life from the clouds.

"Did you ever give up...trying to save me back when I had fallen through the clouds?" she asked after a long moment and Link looked at her, her blonde-haired head resting on his shoulder, her hair moving in the benign breeze that blew softly. Her gaze was fixed on something in the distance, but she was listening to him. That Link was sure of.

"Never, and that's the truth, Zelda." Link drew her closer to his body. "No matter how complex the world I had to travel in I always found a way to proceed onward to find you. I felt horrified at myself and at what happened to you when you fell through the clouds to this place. I promised myself that I would always be there to save you if you were ever in trouble."

"However, if I hadn't went flying with you after the Wing Ceremony then we would have never found this beautiful place, or made it our home. Sometimes things happen for a reason."

"Yes." Link suddenly felt fatigued thinking of the past and all the hardships in it. He only wanted to live in the now with Zelda and just remember what was good and kept them together.

"Link..." Zelda trailed off, as if she was wanting to say something, but then changed her mind about it.

"Zelda?"

Then she ventured. "Being with you now makes me feel happy that we had overcome all those obstacles to get to where we are now."

Link planted a kiss on her blonde head and she snuggled into his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his, her body warm and full of life.

"I know I rejected you three years ago when you confessed your feelings to me, Link, But now...I am ready to share in your love. Are you still waiting for me to say yes?" She looked into his eyes, and Link looked back at her; he knew she was waiting for a final answer.

"I am Zelda...I always have," he murmured and her eyes showed ineffable emotion as they flickered. "Then yes Link, I am in love with you as well."

And high above in the distance, two Loftwings circled each other and the air, the red and blue colors of the birds blending before drawing apart, symbolizing two worlds that have come together and followed fate's desire.

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**A/N: Cute oneshot, no? Let me know what you think of it. :D Thanks for reading! **


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